Fashion designer Suzanne Lee opened up the opposite worlds of fashion and food by inventing wearable textiles out of food.

Lee uses bacteria based cellulose fibre’s to construct textile which are then sewn into wearable garments. Lee hopes to encourage more designers and design houses to grow their clothes as appose to destroying the world we live in to generate profit. Lee is working closely alongside a team of researchers to further develop her product line. Lee is the creative director of Modern Meadow Inc., which is a company that is run by a diverse team of scientist, artist, and designers. They research and develop natural animal fibre’s in the hopes to grow and harvest artificial leather. A large portion of her research involves creating a quality article of clothing that has the potential to biodegrade when discarded. At Meadow Inc. the team is working on developing a product line that can be disposed of in a compost bin instead of a landfill.

Textiles are used in the medical industry for many different healing and treatment purposes. Textiles used in within medical facilities are prone to airborne and surface bacteria’s. Scientists are in the process of creating a fabric that destroys contagious bacteria. This fabric prevents the spread of illness that can linger within the fibres of the fabric.

“Associate Professor Vipul Bansal from RMIT University’s School of Applied Sciences, discusses the ways in which this new material can modernized the medical industry.

Hospital surgery room medical control and exploration

“There is potential for special bedding, linens and surgical aprons on which bugs and bacteria do not grow, so we can maintain an infection-free environment in our healthcare settings,”

Samurai Sportswear is a clothing company that creates customized high energy performance sportswear that uses antibacterial technology to prevent germs from absorbing into the fabric. Many of the fabrics are treated with an antibacterial process before they are constructed into clothing. The fabric also has the benefit of being waterproof and water repelling.

Filed under: Polymer]]>https://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/antibacterial-fabrics/feed/0materialslabnewantibacteHospital surgery room medical control and explorationRecycled Fashion – Sustainable Textileshttps://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/recycled-fashion-sustainable-textiles/
https://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/recycled-fashion-sustainable-textiles/#respondMon, 12 Dec 2016 09:03:50 +0000http://materialslab.wordpress.com/?p=1234Continue reading →]]>The fashion industry as a whole is responsible for millions of yards of discarded and wasted materials. Fast fashion industry practices combined with mass consumerism has contributed to deforestation, environmental contamination; to name a few.Many companies are trying to create ways of reusing materials in order to create something new with less of a carbon footprint on the environment. These recyclable materials are not limited to textiles, but can include plastic and natural fibres.

In 2013 Jean Company Levi Strauss created a collection called the Waste<Less with the goal of designing products using 20% waste. Some of the jeans in this collection were constructed using recycled plastic water bottles. Levi has noted that they have used a total of 11.9 million recycled bottles for the creation of their 511™ Skinny jeans, Levi’s, Trucker jackets, and the women’s Levi’s Boyfriend Skinny jeans.

The fashion industry still has a long way to go on reducing its carbon footprint on the planet, however reusing and upcycling materials is one method of reducing the harmful impact on the environment.

Filed under: Polymer]]>https://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/recycled-fashion-sustainable-textiles/feed/0materialslabbottles_02_34212-500x333Electric cars are often marketed as being green?https://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/10/electric-cars-are-often-marketed-as-being-green/
https://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/10/electric-cars-are-often-marketed-as-being-green/#respondSat, 10 Dec 2016 21:24:35 +0000http://materialslab.wordpress.com/?p=1230Continue reading →]]>How Green is Tesla? Electric cars are often marketed as being green—Nissan Leaf, anybody?—but one has to ask, just how green are electric vehicles? Tesla does not really engage in greenwashing, so they make a good case study here. Sustainability in energy is an interesting concept, because while we admit on one hand that we need energy to run our world, this seems at odds with sustainability—eventually non-renewable energy sources will be depleted.

Electric vehicles seems a solution, but they still promote driving—they might use electricity but they still promote an unsustainable way of life. Furthermore, not all electricity is renewable. Hydroelectric power is big some places, but in a lot of countries electricity is derived from coal or other fossil fuels. Tesla wants to make a big push into China, for example, but that only further increases that country’s coal consumption—not so green. And then there’s building a giant factory in the desert, in an area that already is running out of water. That is a move the company has made that seems out of step with any green initiatives. This isn’t an exhaustive study by any means, but one should definitely dig a little bit deeper before blindly assuming that electric vehicles are a green option.

Even now, in the digital age, we still waste a phenomenal amount of paper. Sure, we recycle it, but wouldn’t it be better to re-use it? Or does it all end up in cardboard boxes and toilet paper rolls? There are uses for paper that we don’t always think of, and Paperbricks is one of them. This interesting innovation comes from a small shop in the Netherlands, run by a Korean—New Zealander, of course.

The innovation starts with the understanding that paper fibres are broken down with each round of recycling. That is, the quality of the paper downgrades each time. Paperbricks are made from recycled newspaper. They are hard, and shaped like bricks, so that they can be stacked or turned into different pieces of furniture, such as benches and tables.

This type of innovation adds another cycle to paper that would not otherwise exist—newsprint is already close to the end of paper’s life. And they incorporate sustainable design by making something less wasteful and more permanent. Rather than simply squeezing out one more cycle from the paper, the bricks end up used in furniture that lasts for years. And it means fewer trees cut down for furniture, saving another resource as well. Paperbricks are an excellent example of thought leadership in sustainable design.

Oil spills are one of the greatest marine environmental issues that have yet to be stopped. With the constant amount of oil transportations through shipment, these bodies of water would always be vulnerable to a possible oil spill if not carefully transported. Aside from spills in the water, there are also oil spills on land as automobiles run on gas and a lot of it actually somehow ends up on land rather than being in these machines. So what is a possible solution to improve these situations?

The company Vigilant Marine Systems, LLC has actually developed the OXP-151 Polymer which is an environmentally safe material that encapsulates petroleum and other hydrocarbon based products. The material allows the possibility of absorbing the hydrocarbon and then recovering it through processing. By applying a thin layer of powder, which is its natural form, the material is capable of absorbing hydrocarbon as it bonds together from a reaction of the OXP-151.

Below is an image of ½ gallon of gasoline absorbed by 150 grams of OXP-151

The material, however, creates a permanent bond with the hydrocarbon and thus begins a burning process with its low ash content (<0.6%). Many benefits include its cost effectiveness, environmentally safe, non-hazardous, non-toxic and its capability of being incinerated. The product could possibly be a great solution to oil spills or simply a way to clean our bodies of water when we are using it for transportation purposes. Since this is also a very buoyant material, anything that can be used for travelling on water could attach the material at its base to let the material perform as it sits in the water.

Chinese scientists have recently discovered a new material with a world record of lightest material on earth consisting of only 0.16 milligram/ cubic centimeter. It also has a density lower than helium and hydrogen. Comparing this material to air’s density, which has a density of 1.2mg/cm3, aerogel has only 0.16mg/cm3 meaning this material can actually float. This material is made by freeze-drying solutions to develop a carbon sponge between carbon nanotubes and graphene. It is said to have the capability of absorption up to an approximate 850- 900 times its own weight and is definitely a potential material to aid clean up the environment. The freeze-drying procedure stacks the atoms into 3D where carbon nanotubes solutions are used. The possibility of this material is countless along with its further development of thermal conductivity.

When a fire breaks out, there is only so much you could do to evacuate the area as soon as possible. In many cases, there may be so little time to react that limits your options of survival, as you possibly don’t have the resources to perform the emergency safety procedure such as using a fire extinguisher or finding water to protect yourself with. With that in mind, the Ceramic Fiber developed by 3M Nextel could possibly be a new solution to saving lives in case of a fire.

The 3M Nextel Ceramic Fibers is normally used for products that generate extreme heat such as industrial furnaces and rocket boosters etc. The material is strong enough to withstand the heat of up to 1300ºC. The material was also once used to protect NASA Space Shuttles preventing heat was reentering. Although the material has been developed for many industrial products, the material definitely has potential to become a solution to emergency fire evacuations.

Rather than having fire blankets, the ceramic fibers could become a substitute where it can be used to create a path of escape. The durable material could also be reused and is very lightweight consisting ceramic oxide fibers. The material could also possibly be made into a wearable form perhaps an option for future fireman uniform. For more information about regular “bunker gear” of a fireman, please visit: http://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/page.php?id=164. Aside from the fireman’s uniform, the material could possibly be made into a form of a blanket and have them located in certain areas of a building as another survival aide.

The material is also available in other thicknesses from other developing brands. However, the thickness of the material also affects its fire resistance level. For a general look at the heat resistance, visit: http://www.shreefirepackindia.com/ceramic-fiber-cloth.html for more information on the Chairman brand of ceramic fibers from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

-SC

Filed under: Polymer]]>https://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/ceramic-fibers-and-textiles/feed/0materialslabceramic-fibers-and-textiles1ceramic-fibers-and-textiles2ceramic-fibers-and-textiles3Nordgröna Sound Absorbing Panelhttps://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/nordgrona-sound-absorbing-panel/
https://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/nordgrona-sound-absorbing-panel/#respondTue, 06 Dec 2016 06:44:09 +0000http://materialslab.wordpress.com/?p=1201Continue reading →]]>Nordgröna’s sound absorbing panels are made from natural Reindeer Moss which grow in the subarctic regions of Scandinavia. The structure of moss is ideal for absorbing sound from different directions. The sound absorbing panel comes in many different sizes and colours and it does not contain toxic chemicals or components. It usually uses in interior design and decoration. When the reindeer moss panel is installed, the moss requires no maintenance and remains intact in interior environment within normal humidity conditions. Due to its hygroscopic characters, it has the ability to “breathe” by attracting, absorbing and releasing water vapor from the surrounding environment. It also meets the fire-resistant standard of ISO 11925-2. It is available in standard sizes in three configurations, a convex square covering the top surface and edges, a convex circle and a ‘seamless square’ that allows for seamless tiling of multiple squares.

Filed under: Naturals]]>https://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/nordgrona-sound-absorbing-panel/feed/0materialslabSIREWALL systemhttps://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/sirewall-system/
https://materialslab.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/sirewall-system/#respondMon, 05 Dec 2016 19:54:34 +0000http://materialslab.wordpress.com/?p=1195Continue reading →]]>SIREWALL system is a complete wall system that has compacted local soils combined with 6 to 10 percent cement on either side of a hidden insulation core. It is typically 18’’ to 24’’ thick and is stabilized with compacted earth and rebar. There is no sealants, siding or drywall required to SIREWALL building. These walls are producing thermal mass and efficiency beyond any other wall system and they exceed current standards for energy efficiency and compressive strength. The SIREWALL System can last several lifetime without the need for maintenance. It can have different colors.